Three’s brand appeal has leapt 50% since using data to predict campaign success

Phone network Three has seen a 50 per cent increase in brand appeal since establishing a framework of KPI’s which predict a marketing campaign’s success before it rolls out, according to marketing director Tom Malleschitz.

The topic of data’s role in creativity continues to loom large and with ‘Best Use of Data’ a new category for this year’s The Drum Marketing Awards, Malleschitz – a judge for the awards – spoke about how Three is negotiating the task of blending traditional ‘creativity’ and data driven marketing techniques.

Three began this internally and with its agencies Wieden + Kennedy and Mindshare as it set out on “a mission to become famous” which it knew would demand advertising that elicited a deeper emotional connection that previous work.

“We believe that an emotional model of advertising and emotional measurement can lead to greater effectiveness,” said Malleschitz. “So before a campaign goes live we scrutinise the level of emotional connection our audience will have with the campaign and how many times it will be shared. At the end of the day, if you can’t measure it, you might as well go home.”

This "virality" approach has underpinned its most successful campaign, including the Moonwalking Pony (2 million YouTube views), SingitKitty (over 6 million YouTube views) and its most recent campaign featuring a purple puppet named Jackson (2.5 million views).

“Since adopting this model of advertising, we’ve seen a 50 per cent increase in relative brand appeal, an encouraging proof point that shows we are track to achieve our goal,” said Malleschitz.

This is particularly significant for Three - the smallest operator on the market - which has been looking to reset perceptions among consumers to stand up against the bigger players in the market.

The Drum Marketing Awards, sponsored by iStock by Getty Images, reward and celebrate the UK’s most effective marketing strategies and are open to any company that has carried out marketing over the eligibility period. The deadline for entries has recently extended. For more information contact emma.mercer@thedrum.com or visit the dedicated website.